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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24746779">Bloodied Hands and the Taste of Revenge</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/bossxtweed/pseuds/bossxtweed'>bossxtweed</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Study in Time Lord Parenting [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Doctor Who (2005)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Blood and Gore, Body Horror, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Murder, Other, Torchwood One, hannibal levels of bodily mutilation so use that as a gauge, one person loses an eye; another gets shot</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 04:46:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,776</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24746779</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/bossxtweed/pseuds/bossxtweed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“It’s done, then?” he asks. </p><p>“---yes,” she replies, glancing towards her daughter. “It’s done.” </p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>The Doctor/The Master (Doctor Who), Twelfth Doctor/Missy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Study in Time Lord Parenting [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1776127</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Bloodied Hands and the Taste of Revenge</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Sitting in his office at the university, the Doctor keeps one eye fixed on Genevieve as she sleeps, ready to move should she startle awake screaming, and in his hands he holds a novel, something one of the students had recommended but which he didn’t have much interest in. The sudden stench of blood fills the room and he lifts his gaze from the worn pages. There, covered in blood, stands Missy, with a cold glint in her eyes and a stained knife in her hands, and the Doctor’s own gaze hardens as he regards her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s done, then?” he asks. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“---yes,” she replies, glancing towards her daughter. “It’s done.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That morning, Missy determines to exact revenge on the people who hurt Genevieve, no matter </span>
  <em>
    <span>what </span>
  </em>
  <span>the Doctor says to try and stop her; after all, Genevieve has not slept well in </span>
  <em>
    <span>years, </span>
  </em>
  <span>and it breaks her mother’s hearts to sit up with her night after night, holding her close and hearing her cry, until eventually the girl gives up on sleeping and sets about her day. Today, it is the Doctor who makes them breakfast. To start them off: chocolate chip pancakes with glasses of fresh-squeezed orange juice, followed by a </span>
  <em>
    <span>bit </span>
  </em>
  <span>of ice cream (though not </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>much, or it would ruin her appetite for lunch). </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once Geni leaves for the bathroom, Missy leans into the Doctor as he stands at the sink, rinsing out their dishes, and she says, “I simply can</span>
  <b>
    <em>nae </em>
  </b>
  <span>stand it anymore, Doctor. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Every night </span>
  </em>
  <span>she cries, and the more I think about it, the </span>
  <b>
    <em>angrier </em>
  </b>
  <span>I get… they </span>
  <b>
    <em>deserve to die </em>
  </b>
  <span>for what they did to my little girl.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The Doctor does not answer for what feels like </span>
  <em>
    <span>ages </span>
  </em>
  <span>and Missy fights the urge to rip the bowl from his hands and throw it across the room, letting the dark blue ceramic shatter on the worn tile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” he finally replies. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Blinking, she takes a step back. “Wa---” </span>
  <em>
    <span>this could be a </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>trick, </em>
  </b>
  <span>she thinks; </span>
  <em>
    <span>he could be </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>testing me </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>to see if I can live up to his ideal of a “good person”--- </span>
  </em>
  <span>she meets his gaze and finds a fury burning in his eyes.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” the Doctor repeats, and after setting the bowl down, he places one hand over hers. “I </span>
  <em>
    <span>said: </span>
  </em>
  <span>‘</span>
  <b>
    <em>yes.</em>
  </b>
  <span>’ You know I can’t stand to see children hurt.” After a moment he says, “though I would have thought you wanted </span>
  <em>
    <span>her </span>
  </em>
  <span>to go after them?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Missy smiles. “I---I </span>
  <em>
    <span>did, </span>
  </em>
  <span>but I din</span>
  <b>
    <em>nae</em>
  </b>
  <span> want her to get blood on her hands.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s good,” he states plainly. “It shows that you </span>
  <em>
    <span>truly </span>
  </em>
  <span>want the best for her by not wanting her to grow up a murderer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Yes," Missy whispers."I </span>
  <em>
    <span>truly</span>
  </em>
  <span> want the best for her."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She falls quiet as Genevieve walks back into the room.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Geni,” the Doctor starts, turning towards her with a smile. “Your mum has some </span>
  <em>
    <span>errands </span>
  </em>
  <span>to run---would you like to spend the day with me at the university? You could get an early taste for the college life!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She stares between her mum and the Doctor before smiling. “Yeah! Can I bring Mr. Sky?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Course y’ can, love. Just be careful with him, alright?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Genevieve rushes forward and wraps her arms around her mum. Missy returns the hug before pressing a kiss to the top of her daughter’s head, and the girl breaks the hug after a moment and runs off to fetch her backpack.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go now,” the Doctor tells Missy. He quirks a brow and asks, “you still have your vortex manipulator?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes. And---if she hears </span>
  <em>
    <span>ticking </span>
  </em>
  <span>from her bear, </span>
  <b>
    <em>don’t </em>
  </b>
  <span>let her open it. She’s too young to deal with </span>
  <em>
    <span>two hearts</span>
  </em>
  <span> on top of everything else.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I see,” he responds, before turning back to the sink to finish washing up. Missy pushes up the sleeve of her dress and taps the coordinates into the vortex manipulator before disappearing in a flash.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The first thing Missy notices upon landing is the darkness---she must have landed in the middle of the night---and then the stench of sewage, and she looks around, saying, “well, I’ve landed in </span>
  <em>
    <span>worse </span>
  </em>
  <span>places, haven’t I? Hopefully their headquarters isn’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>too </span>
  </em>
  <span>far off…”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She knows from reading her daughter’s mind that </span>
  <em>
    <span>three </span>
  </em>
  <span>operatives in particular are responsible for having hurt her: two women and a man, all young, married only to their work as self-proclaimed “alien hunters,” and she wonders who she should off first while the others watch, paralyzed…. </span>
  <em>
    <span>I </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>did </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>remember to bring that, didn’t I? Don’t want them screaming </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>bloody murder </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>while I rip out their entrails…</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span> She crouches down and pokes her head around the corner, where two individuals---one man, one woman---stand outside a heavy steel door, chatting away about whatever the hell humans like to chat about, and one of them laughs. Awful, high-pitched, condescending by its very nature. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Soon </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>I’ll </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>be the one laughing, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Missy thinks, and she watches as the pair turn, open the door, and step inside.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Walking is </span>
  <em>
    <span>so </span>
  </em>
  <span>19th Century,” she says, once again tapping coordinates into the Vortex Manipulator. When she lands, she finds herself inside the building, surrounded by tall storage cabinets with no windows in sight. After fumbling for a few moments, she finds a switch on the wall and flicks on the lights, illuminating the cramped room. Curiously, she opens the one labelled “B” in messy print and rummages through it, and her hearts jump into her throat once she finds the folder labelled “BRAITHWAITE, G.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For you, my love,” she whispers, tucking the folder into the folds of her dress. “So you can sleep soundly at night.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She hastily shuts the door as she hears noise from the hallway and she clasps her hands in front of her and forces a smile as the man from the alleyway storms in and starts </span>
  <em>
    <span>yelling.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Who </span>
  </em>
  <span>are you and </span>
  <b>
    <em>what </em>
  </b>
  <span>are you doing here?! This is </span>
  <b>
    <em>private. property!” </em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>“My mistake,” Missy starts, her voice sugary sweet, “I must have gotten confused---y’ see, I was </span>
  <em>
    <span>looking </span>
  </em>
  <span>for the </span>
  <em>
    <span>confectioner’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> shop---</span>
  <b>
    <em>massive </em>
  </b>
  <span>sweet-tooth, me---and I must’ve gotten </span>
  <em>
    <span>turned around </span>
  </em>
  <span>somewhere---”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grabs her roughly by the arm and yanks her into the corridor, saying, “that’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>enough! </span>
  </em>
  <span>It’s </span>
  <b>
    <em>impossible </em>
  </b>
  <span>to get into headquarters without knowing what you’re looking for!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Headquarters?” Missy asks. “I dunno </span>
  <em>
    <span>what </span>
  </em>
  <span>you could possibly mean!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He drags her into a wide-open room where the woman she’d seen earlier and the other woman---the one from Geni’s nightmares---stand, discussing their latest find (some sort of robotic arm, one which idled for hours until it suddenly went for one of their throats, desperate (though they didn’t know it) for their flesh), but they fall quiet once their coworker walks in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Torchwood,” the man finally spits, shoving Missy into the nearest wall. “We deal with everything </span>
  <em>
    <span>not of this world.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She stares between the trio before saying, “you mean </span>
  <em>
    <span>aliens? </span>
  </em>
  <span>I know </span>
  <b>
    <em>all </em>
  </b>
  <span>about those, you know----in fact, I </span>
  <b>
    <em>am </em>
  </b>
  <span>one! Course, none of you will live to tell the tale….”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Who </span>
  </em>
  <span>are you?” one of the women snaps.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Missy stands, brushes herself off, and makes an exaggerated bow before saying, “I’m </span>
  <em>
    <span>Missy. </span>
  </em>
  <span>The three of you remember </span>
  <em>
    <span>Genevieve, </span>
  </em>
  <span>yeah?” she watches their faces, feeling a twinge in her gut as the trio exchange glances, and part of her considers pulling out her handy little device and simply </span>
  <em>
    <span>vaporizing </span>
  </em>
  <span>them all then and there, but that would take away the</span>
  <em>
    <span> fun, </span>
  </em>
  <span>wouldn’t it? She wants the other members of the team (</span>
  <em>
    <span>particularly </span>
  </em>
  <span>the Doctor’s old friend) to </span>
  <b>
    <em>see </em>
  </b>
  <span>the gore and know that they can not get away with harming her daughter. “The little girl you locked up and tortured for </span>
  <b>
    <em>seven</em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span> years?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>The humans draw back and the man reaches towards his waistline, for his gun, but Missy pulls out her hatpin and drives it into his right eye and he shrieks before collapsing to the ground. </span>
</p><p><span>“Sorry, I dinnae like</span> <span>guns unless </span><em><span>I’m </span></em><span>the one pointing them,” she chides, ripping the gun away from him. “And I would recommend against taking that out----then again,” she rips the gun apart, tosses the pieces in opposite directions, and lifts one hand, saying, “it doesn’t </span><em><span>matter </span></em><span>though, does it? I mean, you’ve got--what? </span><b><em>Ten </em></b><span>minutes left? So, go ahead, if you’d like. Get jelly all over yourself, see if</span><em><span> I </span></em><span>care!” </span></p><p>
  <span>One of the women, feeling herself brave, pulls a gun from within her dress, points it at Missy with shaking hands, and says, “Listen: what we did to your daughter was in the </span>
  <em>
    <span>best interest </span>
  </em>
  <span>of the empire---”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Missy laughs, and it’s a cold, cruel laugh, one that speaks of her pain and anger, and she stares down the barrel without blinking. “Y’know, I’ve been </span>
  <em>
    <span>trying </span>
  </em>
  <span>to be a decent person---to let bygones be bygones, stop blowing up planets for the sheer </span>
  <em>
    <span>thrill </span>
  </em>
  <span>of watching the smoke rise up and up, and to stop </span>
  <em>
    <span>killing humans </span>
  </em>
  <span>simply for their </span>
  <em>
    <span>being </span>
  </em>
  <span>human, but you---” the gun fires and Missy rushes forward, not caring as pain blooms in her shoulder, and she grabs the woman, tosses her to the ground, and with a solid blow to the side of her head renders her unconscious. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stay back!” the second woman shouts, by now holding what at first glance appears to be a Dalek’s gun (a very </span>
  <em>
    <span>worn </span>
  </em>
  <span>one, Missy notes), though its obvious by the fear in her gaze that she doesn’t know how it works. “I’ve seen this used before, and it’s capable of </span>
  <em>
    <span>completely </span>
  </em>
  <span>disintegrating all things, living or not!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Scoffing, Missy stands, shuts off the nerves in her shoulder (for the bullet had gone </span>
  <em>
    <span>deeper </span>
  </em>
  <span>than she originally thought), and motions for the woman to act. “Go ahead, please. Because you </span>
  <em>
    <span>clearly </span>
  </em>
  <span>din</span>
  <em>
    <span>nae</span>
  </em>
  <span> know what that is, or how to use it, but I’d </span>
  <b>
    <em>love </em>
  </b>
  <span>to see you try. Genuinely.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The woman hesitates. Everything about this scenario is beyond her level of training---normally, the threat comes in the form of some sort of goo monster incapable of speaking English, or an anthropomorphic being with a gun and an immense amount of rage, the likes of which generally subscribes to the </span>
  <em>
    <span>shoot first, ask questions later </span>
  </em>
  <span>mentality, but the woman before her shakes her to her very core. </span>
  <em>
    <span>She’s </span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em>messing </em>
  </b>
  <em>
    <span>with me, </span>
  </em>
  <span>the woman thinks; </span>
  <em>
    <span>she got in here before we did, tampered with the gun somehow, and if I shoot….</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Coldly, Missy states, “no, </span>
  <b>
    <em>really. </em>
  </b>
  <span>Because I’m not in the mood to kill you </span>
  <em>
    <span>and </span>
  </em>
  <span>her,” she motions towards the other woman. “I really just want to make sure none of you can hurt my daughter again.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The gun raises, aimed (the woman thinks) at Missy’s chest, but when it fires, </span>
  <em>
    <span>she </span>
  </em>
  <span>receives the full blast, and she lights up electric blue before collapsing to the ground, smoke rising from her limp body. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good girl,” Missy says, leaning down to pat the woman’s cheek. “I was about ready to use </span>
  <em>
    <span>hypnotism</span>
  </em>
  <span> on you!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She turns as she hears a </span>
  <em>
    <span>squelching </span>
  </em>
  <span>sound, and she laughs at the sight of the man pressing a pocket square against his now empty eye socket. “Goo, goo, goo,” she sing-songs, crouching down next to him, and she repins her hat before pulling out a syringe. “Now, this might </span>
  <em>
    <span>sting </span>
  </em>
  <span>a little, but you won’t be able to feel </span>
  <b>
    <em>anything </em>
  </b>
  <span>when you wake up…. y’know, from the nightmares, I think </span>
  <em>
    <span>you’ll </span>
  </em>
  <span>be the one to enjoy this the most…” she preps the needle and injects it into his neck, saying, “Sweet dreams now.” She tosses the needle aside and sets about her work.</span>
</p><p><span>Missy leaves the dead woman alone and injects the paralyzing agent into the other woman before slapping her awake, and she smiles.“Morning.” She pulls a knife from within her dress (one she’d nicked from the Doctor’s kitchen, not </span><em><span>quite </span></em><span>the size of the typical cleaver, but large enough to instantly incapacitate any willing foe) and drives it into the woman’s abdomen, saying,</span> <span>“This might </span><em><span>hurt</span></em><span> a bit, but I think you’ll like it, actually, what with the way human women obsess over how much they weigh…”</span></p><p>
  <span>She turns, lifts the man into a nearby rolling chair, and then crouches again besides the woman and pulls out her small intestines, which she uses as a make-shift rope to secure the man to the chair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The next day, Captain Harkness finds his coworkers dead and disemboweled, their organs hanging up like party decorations, one of them missing an eye, and there is a note written in blood on the wall: </span>
  <em>
    <span>‘I DID THIS FOR HER.’ </span>
  </em>
  <span>It takes him several hours to steel himself enough to set about cleaning up.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Genevieve spent the day with the Doctor, Bill, and Nardole, busying herself during lessons with a language learning book, copying down the strange symbols and listening to recordings of her mum speaking Gallifreyan. Around one pm they enjoyed a nice lunch in the cafe, before the Doctor had to run off for his office hours (which he complained about, because </span>
  <em>
    <span>generally </span>
  </em>
  <span>the problems could be dealt with in emails, and he personally </span>
  <em>
    <span>hates </span>
  </em>
  <span>when students come to him crying, because he </span>
  <em>
    <span>hates </span>
  </em>
  <span>seeing people cry and generally doesn’t know how to respond), and once he was free (after office hours and </span>
  <em>
    <span>two more classes), </span>
  </em>
  <span>they have </span>
  <em>
    <span>ice cream </span>
  </em>
  <span>for dinner, even though they’d had some with breakfast, because one could </span>
  <em>
    <span>never </span>
  </em>
  <span>have ‘enough’ when it comes to ice cream. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When her mum doesn’t return, Genevieve panics---she </span>
  <em>
    <span>can’t </span>
  </em>
  <span>sleep without her mum, and even holding Mr. Sky (her teddy bear, named for blue and white patch on his belly) does little to calm her. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sure she’ll be back soon,” the Doctor says, trying to calm her. “She’s a very busy lady, your mum.”</span>
</p><p><span>After the girl curls up on the floor, the Doctor lays a blanket over her and presses two fingers against her temple, sending soothing thoughts her way before settling in with a trashy novel (at least, he </span><em><span>assumes</span></em><span> by the cover</span> <span>it’s trashy, but he isn’t </span><em><span>really </span></em><span>reading the book; the words leave his mind as soon as he reads them, and he spares a glance at the back cover only to find </span><em><span>reviews, </span></em><span>and he sighs before turning back to the text). </span></p><p>
  <span>After Missy arrives and he confirms it’s been taken care of, he stands and looks closely at her, noting the paleness of her skin and the unusual way in which she seems to favor her left arm.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re hurt,” he whispers. “Did they hurt you?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She forces a smile and replies, “it’s nothing, really---a </span>
  <em>
    <span>flesh wound!</span>
  </em>
  <span> Can’t even feel it! Though I </span>
  <em>
    <span>would </span>
  </em>
  <span>appreciate it if you could remove the bull--”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course, Missy. Now, I think you should get cleaned up before Geni sees,” he glances towards where the girl sleeps, her face buried in her bear. Then, turning back to Missy, he asks, “Are you keeping this outfit, or---”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I plan on burning it,” she replies, turning towards his TARDIS. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Green</span>
  </em>
  <span> isn’t my favorite colour.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After she disappears into his ship, he wakes Genevieve, saying, “it’s time to go to bed now, Geni. Your mum’s gone to take a shower and she’ll be in to say ‘good night’ once she’s done.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She rubs her eyes and stands, squeezing her bear against her chest, and the Doctor opens the doors for her, walks her to her room, and only once she’s in bed does he seek out Missy.</span>
</p><p><span>He finds her in the medbay, half undressed before a mirror and fumbling with a scalpel, and he gently takes the instrument from her and sets to work, removing the bullet. “This is </span><b><em>not</em></b> <span>a ‘flesh wound,’” he chides. “In fact, it looks like you might have been </span><em><span>running towards the gun </span></em><span>as it was fired. But you wouldn’t have done that, would you?”</span></p><p>
  <span>She meets his gaze for a moment before dipping her head, smiling sadly. “It felt </span>
  <em>
    <span>good, </span>
  </em>
  <span>Doctor. Killing them felt </span>
  <b>
    <em>good </em>
  </b>
  <span>because I was doing it for </span>
  <b>
    <em>her, </em>
  </b>
  <span>for my little girl, and I’ll be able to sleep tonight knowing she’s </span>
  <b>
    <em>safe.” </em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re </span>
  <b>
    <em>right</em>
  </b>
  <span> to feel good about it. You know, when I first heard you had a daughter, I didn’t imagine you cared this much about her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She laughs brokenly. “I’ve been a nanny and I </span>
  <em>
    <span>like </span>
  </em>
  <span>children when they don’t misbehave all the time, and Geni is just a </span>
  <em>
    <span>baby, </span>
  </em>
  <span>really, isn’t she? She’s </span>
  <em>
    <span>so</span>
  </em>
  <b>
    <em> young</em>
  </b>
  <span> and I just want the world for her.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She sings her daughter to sleep later that night and the pair of them sleep comfortably, for once not plagued by nightmares.</span>
</p>
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